1 Kings 3: 1-14 (links validated 6/22/23)

Elizabeth Ann Bailey was born into a prestigious family, her father being a Chief Health Officer with many family connections to the Church of England. So in a time of upheaval that the American Revolution was for most people, the Bailey family would be of a small group that, because of their governmental and religious connections, could navigate both sides of that conflict and be respected by both. But apart from the stability that could bring in terms of securing social status and wealth – it didn’t prevent tragedies like Elizabeth’s mother dying from complications after giving birth to her sister Catherine, her father remarrying, having five children with her stepmother. And then, when the father and stepmother separated the stepmother turned her back on them; the father returned to England for further medical studies and left Elizabeth and Catherine, to be raised by his brother/their Uncle William. As awful as those circumstances were, Elizabeth was fortunate compared to many of her contemporaries – academically gifted – she studied languages and arts – being fluent in French and a talented musician. At the age of 19, she married a wealthy businessman named William Seton. She was part of the elite of New York, having the first Episcopal Bishop of New York presiding at their wedding and then moving into a home on Wall Street – which was as associated with wealth and privilege then as it is now. Long story short, in 9 years, Elizabeth Ann Seton’s and her husband had five children of their own and ended up taking in William’s six other siblings. William had suffered from Tuberculosis even before their marriage, but by 1803 it had gotten so much worse that his doctors suggested he go to Italy for a warmer climate to recuperate. Which he, Elizabeth, and one of their daughters did. Within a month of their arrival, two days after Christmas in 1803, William died. So Elizabeth Ann Seton is in a foreign land, now a young widow with one daughter and four other children 4,000 miles away...

Some prominent sages have written that the root desires of human existence are the pride of power, the accumulation of money, and the experience of pleasure. Thinkers like Hobbes, Ayn Rand, Machiavelli, and the Marquis de Sade have built great ideologies on one of the competing life-goals of sex, power, and money. This opinion is not limited to ivory tower theoreticians; it’s expressed in the language of ordinary people when they appeal to the “real” motives lurking behind all human actions: “Looking out for Number One,” “We’re all out for a buck,” “Everybody’s on the make.” The billions spent on advertising presume, quite successfully, that the foundations of all value and meaning are things, privilege, and self-indulgence...

Anybody remember Seinfeld? There is an episode where Elaine had strained her neck trying to get a bicycle down from the wall in an antique store. Her neck is really bothering her and she impulsively says that she will give the bike to whoever can fix her neck. Kramer claims to know shiatsu massage and it actually works, so Elaine reluctantly gives him the bike. But the very next day the pain returns and she wants the bike back. So there was a disagreement over who really owned the bike. They go to Newman to settle the dispute. Newman hears arguments from each side and they are both compelling. It is not easy, but he finally gives his decision: “Let the bike be cut down the middle and each party shall get half.” Elaine says, “OK, fine.” But Kramer says, “No, it is better for Elaine to have this bicycle than for no one to be able to ride it.” And Newman says that Kramer has proven himself to be the rightful owner...

As king, Solomon is like a restored Adam, established by God to reign in a kingdom of peace. Peter Leithart remarks: Solomon asks for wisdom, more specifically for “discernment of good and evil” … (3:9), using a phrase similar to that found in Gen. 2–3 to describe the tree in the garden … a tree that gives wisdom. Solomon’s request can thus be described as a request for access to the tree forbidden to Adam. Like Adam, Solomon goes into “deep sleep” in order to receive a bride, but Solomon awakes in the company of Lady Wisdom. As in 1 Kgs. 2, Solomon is a new and improved Adam.

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